Decatur man charged with causing 10-vehicle wreck

Police said Steve Shackelford left the scene of the wreck on foot after his car and another vehicle burst into flames.

Posted: Nov 8, 2017 9:15 AM

Updated: Nov 8, 2017 4:43 PM

Posted By: Patrick Ary

Decatur police said a man who caused a wreck Tuesday morning that left one person in critical condition was speeding and shouldn't have been behind the wheel.

Steve Shackelford, 29, was arrested after police found him at his home on Vine Street Tuesday.

Police say Shackelford, who has a revoked license, was speeding on Beltline Road when he ran his car into a truck that was stopped at the traffic light at Old Moulton Road. The crash caused a chain of collisions that involved 10 vehicles total, police said.

Both Shackelford's car and the truck burst into flames on impact, police said.

The driver of the truck, Larry Stafford Bird, 44, of Decatur, was flown to UAB Hospital in critical condition.

Police said they believed Shackelford had been taken to the hospital by first responders, but then later learned he left the scene of the wreck on foot. He was arrested at his home about three and a half miles away on Vine Street, police said.

Shackelford was charged with felony leaving the scene of an accident, driving on a revoked license, driving with an expired tag and no proof of insurance.